New Jersey Criminal Defense Blog

http://www.lependorfsilverstein.com/lewd-conduct.shtmlPolice arrested a math teacher from the Vo-Tech School in Sussex County for allegedly having sexual relations with two students. The New Jersey Herald, in an online article reported recently that
Richard Koppenaal a resident of Frankford Township was being held on suspicion of having illegal sexual relations and sexual contact with two of the high school’s students over the course of the last two years. Sparta Township Police and the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office investigations also revealed that the criminal events took place across as many as five different Sussex County towns.

Sussex Tech Superintendent Dr. Mark Toback was quoted in the article stating Koppenaal, 37, is being suspended with pay pending an executive school board decision. Koppenaal who had been with the school for over three years now faces criminal charges including one count of second-degree sexual assault and three counts of fourth-degree sexual contact. His bail amount has been set at $100,000 bail with Superior Court Judge N. Peter Conforti refusing to lower it. Judge Conforti also ruled Koppenaal to keep away from the school and from its students including the alleged victims, the paper reported.

In our experience at Lependorf & Silverstein, having successfully defended many professionals, we know a false accusation is always possible. Our defense attorneys conduct their own investigations in each case and ensure every piece of evidence is examined in the effort to clear the client.

From the judge's ruling in the above case it is clear the consequences for such an arrest and any indictments that may happen later, will be far reaching and damaging to one’s image in the community. It is crucial you call the offices of Lependorf & Silverstein immediately when facing sex crime charges.

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A Phillipsburg Middle School teacher’s aide is under investigation after he was charged with possession of child pornography. Detectives took James Leonarczyk’s personal computer from his home, according to a news report in the New Jersey Star-Ledger. The 40-year-old aide was arrested Friday after officials served a search warrant and confiscated the computer, which reportedly had the pornographic images.

According to officials, their investigation of another computer user in Rhode Island led them to Leonarczyk, the article stated. Detectives are now talking to students and examining Leomarczyk’s demeanor with students and of course the possibility of whether there are any victims. An eighth grade teacher’s aide, Leonarczyk was also a soccer coach outside the school district.

So far, officials say they haven’t found indications of inappropriate behavior or abuse on his park. But they have left the door open for more charges in this case, the article said. Leonarczyk, who has been released on his own recognizance, has been suspended but not removed from his job at the school district. School officials are not releasing any other information because a personnel matter is protected and confidential and not a public record.

Although possession of child pornography may not be as serious a crime as sexual assault, child abuse or rape, it will have serious consequences on your life and career. Anyone of convicted of possession of child pornography will be required to register as a sex offender although it will be under a category not visible to the public as part of the Megan’s Law database.

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This story is a great example of how you can dig a hole 10 times deeper than the one you’re already in. Instead of hiring a competent New Jersey defense attorney to get him out of trouble and get the help he needs, Kyle Lewthwaite decided to do something he thought was very smart. He phoned in a bogus bomb threat to a neighborhood school to get out of a warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in court on a drug possession charge.

According to an article in the Daily Record , the 23-year-old Lewthwaite was charged with possession of heroin, possession with intent to distribute and other charges. This week, police stopped him for a seatbelt violation. Lewthwaite, who knew he was in trouble, picked up his cell phone when the officer was not looking, called 911 and called in the phony threat to distract officers.

His plan initially worked, but officers soon put two and two together and caught up with Lewthwaite. Now, he not only faces the original drug charges, but in addition has been charged with creating a false public alarm, a false 911 call and making terrorist threats. He is being held in jail on a $25,000 bail. Students at the middle school where Lewthwaite called in the threat were evacuated for about 10 minutes, the newspaper reported.

The Daily Record also reported that Lewthwaite was an exceptional student who had a love for science and electronics and even won a Coca Cola scholarship after graduating from high school. Clearly, this was a man who needed help. At Lependorf & Silverstein, we strongly believe that it is not only a New Jersey defense attorney’s job to get clients acquitted, but also to get the help they need.

What Lewthwaite needed was not time behind bars. He needed counseling and rehabilitation to kick his drug habit and get back into society as a productive citizen. Obviously, he did not get that help he so badly and desperately needed. Instead, in his attempt to get out of trouble, he ended up multiplying his troubles.

If you or a loved one has been charged of drug crimes or any other crime in the state of New Jersey, call Lependorf & Silverstein right away to discuss your case. It will cost you nothing to make that call. Instead, you have everything to gain. We will do what it takes to achieve the best possible result in your case and get you the help that you need.

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New Jersey lawmakers are poised to make an historical decision next month – on whether to do away with the death penalty. If the legislature is in agreement, New Jersey will be the first state in the United States to abolish capital punishment since the Supreme Court reinstated it in 1976. Instead, the highest punishment will be life in prison without the possibility of parole.

According to an Associated Press news report in CBS News’ Web site (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/09/ap/national/main3481432.shtml), no one has been executed in the state of New Jersey in the last 44 years although the state currently has eight men on death row. The State Assembly is set to vote on this very important issue Dec. 13. The governor has also sent a message to the legislature that he looks forward to working with lawmakers to do away with the death penalty.

Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. told the Associated Press that the death penalty is “flawed public policy that is costly, discriminatory, immoral and cruel.” He highlighted the fact that when the state executes offenders, there is no way to go back and right a wrong.

A State committee in May recommended abolishing the death penalty, but the Senate did not consider it. The current bill was born from a finding made by a special State commission earlier this year that the death penalty was way more costly that life in prison. What’s more, the study found that the possibility of a death sentence did nothing to deter murder. Republicans in the Senate are saying that they will fight this bill and that abolishing the death penalty doesn’t solve anything.

Continue reading "New Jersey Must Do Away With the Death Penalty" »

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